Thomas cato mckeen



T. 0.. McKEEN. DIVING APPARATUS.

No. 65.760. "PatentedJnne 11, 1867.

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ZIHOMAS CATO McKEEN, OF IRVINGTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO THE NEW YORK SUBMARINE COMPANY.

Letters Patent No. 65,760, dated June 11, 1867.

IMPROVED DIVING APPARATUS.

TQALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, THOMAS CATO McKEEN, of Irvington, in the county of Essex, State of New Jersey, 'United States of America, have invented. new anduseful improvements in Diving Apparatus for submarine purposes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, true, and exact description of my said .inipsov. mcnts and apparatus, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, making a, part ofthis my specification, in. which drawings- Figure I represents a side elevation of the apparatus as worn upon thediveigwith the air-reservoir and buoys worn upon the outside of the dress. w I

Figure II represents the same without the air-reservoir, or outer rubber or other covering of the dress, and shows the hoops or rings with hich the apparatus is provided to protect the diver. from -the pressure of the water at great depths.

Figure III represents a side elevation of the apparatus as worn by the. diver, with the air-reservoir inside of the dress, and without the rubber or other covering of the dress.

Figure IV represents a rear elevation of the psntaloons its provided with hoops or rings for protection at great'depths. I

Figure V represents a side view of the chest or body-armor, worn below the helmet and above the pantalocus. The water-proof clothing or dress would cover this. v

In all the figures the same letters represent the some parts.

The object of this invention is to aiford a. diver improved methods of carrying with him a supply of fresh air suificient for his breathing for several hours, and improved buoys which he can inflate at pleasure so that he can rise to the surface when he wishes without the aid .of other persons, and also to protect, by use of hoops or rings in his dress, his body and limbs from the pressure and impact of the water when at considerable depths.-

To enable those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I now proceed to describe the manner of constructing and using the same.

A represents an ordinary diving-dress made of India rubber or otherwater-proof material in the ordinary form. B is the helmet, made of sheet copper or other suitable material in the ordinary way. '0 are nuts for fastening clamps,"joining the helmet and the dress. D is the reservoir for compressed air, made of sheet copper, or other suitable material, in the shape of a knapsack, or any other desirable forui or shape, provided'with straps so tlmtit caa be secured to the back or shouldersand carried conveniently by the diver, as shown in the Fig. I, or made in a tubular air-chamber or chambers, E, forming abody-armor, and worn around the chest and body inside of the dress, a s'ishown in Fig. III; whichever way it is made and worn always leaving the divers hands 'and arms flfi' tl) work and (as free as possible) his body to bend. The reservoir must be madesufficiently strong to hold a large quantity of air compressed into about one-sixtieth, or a still smaller fraction, of its original or ordinary bulk, and should be filled with compressed air by means of a force-pump before the diver puts it"on. It may be allone chamber or divided into compartments, one for the air for the use of the diver in breathing, and one for that for his use in inflating his buoys and, lemounting to the surface.

Although Fig. III displays the reservoir made in a. tubular air-chamber or chambers when it is worn around the body within the dross, yet, when it is so worn either within or uithoutthedress, the air-reservoir may be made of tubes in sections, which shall be so operated that they shallbe successively exhausted of air, or they may be arranged as one long tube wound in a coil, or the reservoir may be a complete chamber of smooth, flat sides, or any other form of construction may be adopted.

When thereservoir is worn around the chest or body, it also acts as the chest or body-armor, and renders the armor displayed in Fig. V unnecessary.

The air reservoir is provided with a pipe, F, which extends to the interior of the dress near the lower part of the helmet. A faucet, G, opens encloses the communication between the aibreservoir and the interior of the dress, and by opening the faucet gradually the diver is enabled to obtain a proper supply of air until the air-reservoir is exhausted, or until he desires to rise to the surface, for the compressed air immediately rushes through the pipe F andseeksits natural dimensions. A perforated plate or tube, like that marked I, made of metal or other material, may be used for spreading or distributing the air after it enters the helmet. A small.-

pipe, provided with, a. valve, H, opening upwards in the top of the helmet, and which pipe may be either of metal or of some flexible material, carries oil the deteriorated air. The helmet may have simply the discharge nirvalve without the pipe, though I-prcfer to use the short pipe For the purpose of protecting the lower limbs and the body of the diver from undue pressure und impact of the water at, great depths, I provide the logs nnd body of the dress with a series of rings or hoops, shown in side elevation in Fig. III, and rear elevation in Fig-IV, and numbered 1,2, 3, 4, 8w. These rings or hoops are made of metal, and may be hollow, like tubes, or not They are graduated in size to correspond with the different parts of the dress, and they are inserted at intervals within the rubber or other materials constituting the dress, or attached within it, so that they will keep the dress free of the body and limbs, and relieve theme of the direct pressureof the water, andat the sometime permit the motion and bending of the body andv limbs in any direction.

J is one of the buoys fitted under the arm, and laced to a. similar buoy on the other side of the diver by the lacings K before the chest and behind the back. These bags or buoys are made of India. rubber, or of layers of canvas covered with a preparation of rubber or of some other flexible or suitable material, and may be covered with a cordage netting of slightly less diameter both ways than the buoy proper, so as to relieve the buoy of strain when inflated, and prevent its bursting. These buoys comnn iiicato with the interior of the airreservoir D by n. pipe,'L, which may be opened or closed by a faucet, M, and which, if the reservoir is divided into compartments, would enter that compartment intended for the air for inflating the buoys. When the diver-is in the water, it the buoys are inflated he will stand head and shoulders out of the water, when the mouth-piece of his helmet may be opened, and he can converse with tnose on board his boat or vessel, or ashore. 'Xhe buoys are provided with an exhaust pipe, N, which has a. faucet, O, by opening which the air in the buoys is allowed to escape, the arms being used to press it out of the buoys, if necessary, when the diver will grcd ually sink. For the sake of convenience in reaching the faucet O I prefer carrying the escape pipe N inside of the helmet,'and placing the faucet O in tront'of the helmet as shown in Fig, I.

When the diver, being submerged, wishes toris'e tothe surface, he fills his buoys by turning the faucet M, the air rushes'into and inflates the buoys, and they hear him up. Inthis method notonly canthe diver rise to the surface, but he can also bring articles of considerable weight withhim. He can also, by graduating the supply of oir in the buoys, and their consequent inflation, suspend himself at any requireddepth in the water without either touching the bottom or rising to the surface.

It is thus seen that by means of my apparatus a diver is enabled to descendtb the bottom, move about on the some, and to ascend to the surface of the water, or suspend himself at any required depth in the wetia'f without the assistance of any other person, so that he has the control of al his movements, and so that the danger 'of sufi'oostion by an interrupt-ion or, accident to the connections betweenithe diver and any person above is avoided. The diver can thus work with much more safety than with any other diving apparatus, and he'c'an apply his whole, energy to the work to be performed.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The use and application offhoopsor rings to the diving-dress,constructed and operating in the manner and for the purposes described.

T.. euro MQKEEN,

Witnesses:

ELLIOTT F. SHEPARD, Pn'rns D. KENNY. 

